A prolonged severe drought in the Peruvian Andes has destroyed herds of alpacas and potato crops. The government has declared a state of emergency for 60 days in more than a hundred districts due to the drought. Rural communities in the south of the country are the most affected.
The Senamhi National Weather Service called the drought one of the worst in half a century, exacerbated by the La Nina weather phenomenon in the central Pacific Ocean.
“November 2022 was one of the driest months in the last 58 years at various weather stations in the Andean region,” they announced.
The government has declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Arequipa and Puno due to the imminent threat of water shortages. In the Andean villages of indigenous groups, there was a great loss of crops and livestock.
According to local media reports, hundreds of alpacas have died this year.
Lakes dried up, lagoons gone
Shallow lakes dried up and only scattered puddles remained, as in the case of the Parihuanas lagoon near Lagunillas. In the neighboring district of Santa Lucia, the Collpacocha lagoon has completely disappeared, leaving only the cracked, muddy bottom of the lake.
Veterinarian and specialist in llamas and alpacas Carlos Pacheco he said that in the worst case scenario, the drought would continue. “The animals are already underweight, and there is no grazing,” he also said.
At high altitude in the Andes, temperatures can drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius, causing mass deaths of sheep and alpacas, which are vital to the survival of the people in the mountain villages.
In the winter of 2015, about 170,000 alpacas died in Peru due to severe cold and drought.
Source: Rtvslo